Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings Of Dakkar #1) - Zoey Draven Page 0,86
finished emptying my stomach of my morning meal.
“Here,” she said, taking a cloth of her travel satchel, and I thanked her, taking it to clean up.
I heard the quick vibrations of a pyroki approaching fast and I looked up to see Arokan. He’d been riding towards the front of the horde that morning and I’d fallen back a little to ride next to my brother and my piki. He must’ve heard Mirari’s alarmed cry and came racing towards us.
“Kalles,” he rasped, swinging off Kailon with ease to come to me. “What is wrong?”
Concern was etched into his features and I felt bad for alarming him so much. “Nothing,” I replied. “The dried meat this morning just didn’t agree with me. I feel much better now.”
He nodded hesitantly, but then said, “Come ride with me for the next stretch. Lysi?”
I nodded and he helped me up onto Kailon’s back before he swung behind me. Once Mirari was back on her pyroki and she’d tethered the one I’d been riding to her, the horde continued forward again.
“Luna,” my brother called when we passed. “What happened?”
Arokan stiffened behind me, no doubt because my brother had announced my name to the horde members within ear shot. I didn’t mind, but I knew the Dakkari were particular about given names, so I would speak with my brother about it the next time we were alone.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “I’ll ride with you in a bit, alright?”
He nodded and watched us as we passed, Arokan guiding Kailon back to the front of the horde. On the way, I caught Hukan’s glare. I simply acknowledged her with an incline of my head—a sign of respect, just because she was related to my husband—but then looked away. She’d ignored me for the better part of the past few weeks and I intended to do the same. I didn’t think she would ever accept me into the horde and I didn’t want to waste energy on a lost cause.
It was the second day of travel already. From sun up to sun down, we rode at a slow pace, towards our destination. The night before, we’d camped in a small, empty clearing, laying down nothing more than pallets and furs while the warriors took shifts in watching over us. I set up my pallett by Mirari and my brother. Lavi slept near her warrior, who one day I hoped she would bind herself to, once Arokan gave him permission to take a kassikari.
It wasn’t the most comfortable, but Arokan had come to me once his shift was over and his warmth had helped lull me into a deep sleep.
Traveling with the horde was different than I’d expected. I’d expected long, drawn out days stretching from minute-to-minute, a sore backside from riding on a pyroki for the majority of that time, and restlessness.
And to some extent, those things were a reality. But I didn’t expect to enjoy it, not as much as I did.
“Are you sore?” Arokan asked me, one arm wrapping around my middle from behind as his other hand held onto Kailon’s reins.
From the pyrokis, he meant.
“It’s not as bad as before,” I told him. My time in the pyroki enclosure had helped build up my inner thighs and buttocks against their hard scales. “My brother is suffering though.”
Arokan said, “We can provide padding if he wishes.”
I shook my head, smiling. “He won’t take it. He’s almost as stubborn as you are.”
He grunted behind me, leaning forward to nip my earlobe in warning. My smile died, my breath hitching, because he knew how sensitive my ears were.
We hadn’t had sex since the night before we left camp. Going from having sex multiple times a day to nothing as we traveled with the horde was difficult.
“I miss you,” I whispered to him, turning my head to look back at him.
He growled, “Soon, kassikari. I promise.”
Time couldn’t pass soon enough.
When we took a break next, I switched back to my own pyroki and rode beside my piki and my brother towards the back of the horde train.
“How do you feel?” I asked Kivan. “Are you sure you do not want the padding?”
Just like I knew he would, he scowled and said, “No, I don’t need the padding.”
Biting back a smile, I watched his expression pull lightly as he adjusted on the pyroki.
“Regretting your decision to stay?” I couldn’t help but tease.
He shot me a look. “I will remain wherever you are, Luna,” he said, “even if it means I have